Around sports: Riblon wins 18th stage as Froome pads Tour lead

Web and wire reports |
July 18, 2013
| Updated: July 18, 2013 11:22pm

Tour de France stage winner Christophe Riblon of France, front, and Tejay van Garderen of the United States speed down Sarenne Pass on Thursday.

Christophe Riblon became the first Frenchman to win a Tour de France stage this year, and Chris Froome boosted his overall lead despite a late struggle on Thursday's 18th stage.

Riblon caught American Tejay van Garderen with about a mile left on the second ride up L'Alpe d'Huez, France, one of the Tour's most famed climbs.

Riblon threw his hands up and pumped his fists after clinching the second Tour stage win of his career. Van Garderen finished 59 seconds behind in second, and Italian Moreno Moser was 1:27 behind in third.

Froome, 3:18 back in seventh, extended his comfortable lead over main rival Alberto Contador to more than five minutes with just three stages remaining. He would have been further ahead had he not been hit with a 20-second time penalty. With about two miles left, he grabbed an energy bar from teammate Richie Porte - forbidden under race rules as riders are not allowed to take food within three miles from the stage end. Porte also received a 20-second penalty.

Baseball

Lane, Skeeters top Bridgeport

Jason Lane allowed six hits and one run in eight innings to help the Skeeters defeat Bridgeport 2-1 in Atlantic League play at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Lane (8-3) struck out two and walked none before giving way to Roberto Giron, who pitched the ninth for his first save.

Alison Walshe, chasing her first victory in four years on the LPGA Tour, shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Marathon Classic at Sylvania, Ohio.

Walshe, in the top 20 on tour in putting statistics, needed only 22 putts. Paula Creamer, the 2008 winner of what used to be known as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, shot a 66 that left her tied with Lexi Thompson and Canadian Jessica ShepleyTop-ranked Inbee Park birdied her final two holes for a 67.

Media

Ex-Texan Pitts joins KPRC staff

Former Texans offensive lineman Chester Pitts will join KPRC (Channel 2) as a year-round member of the station's sports staff, the station announced.

Pitts, who worked for Channel 2 last year as a weekend analyst on the Texans and the NFL, will anchor the station's Friday sportscasts and contribute to "Sports Sunday" and to the Monday sportscasts during football season.

He will begin his new duties Sunday and will anchor the Friday sportscasts beginning July 26.

Sailing

Kiwis' catamaran eclipses 50 mph

Emirates Team New Zealand set another top speed for America's Cup 72-foot catamarans, hitting 44.15 knots, or 50.8 mph, on San Francisco Bay.

The Kiwis set the mark on the first reaching leg as they sailed alone around the course to collect another point in the Louis Vuitton Cup for challengers. Artemis Racing, the scheduled opponent, has yet to race as it works to get its second boat launched after the fatal capsize of its first boat on May 9.

The Kiwis are closing in on advancing straight to the Louis Vuitton Cup finals starting Aug. 17. That would leave Italy's Luna Rossa to face Artemis Racing in the semifinals beginning Aug. 6.

The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will face defending champion Oracle Team USA in the 34th America's Cup starting Sept. 7.